Skilled Trades
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers
Directly supervise and coordinate the activities of production and operating workers, such as inspectors, precision workers, machine setters and operators, assemblers, fabricators, and plant and system operators. Excludes team or work leaders.
Median salary (BLS)
$74,450
10th–90th percentile (BLS)
$47k – $109k
Job outlook
+1% (about average)
AI exposure
Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $70,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.
Plan a path to First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers
Education
Typical entry: No degree (trade/license)
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers
Entry / Junior
$47,130
~2 yrs to advance
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers
Established
$74,450
~3 yrs to advance
Senior First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers
Senior
$91,600
Key skills
A typical day
- •Enforce safety and sanitation regulations.
- •Keep records of employees' attendance and hours worked.
- •Inspect materials, products, or equipment to detect defects or malfunctions.
- •Read and analyze charts, work orders, production schedules, and other records and reports to determine production requirements and to evaluate current production estimates and outputs.
- •Plan and establish work schedules, assignments, and production sequences to meet production goals.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Skilled Trades
Explore all- Purdue University50% admit · $78,000 grad pay
- Ohio State University53% admit · $68,000 grad pay
- Pennsylvania State University55% admit · $70,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.